String And Cans

Sometimes I can't stop wondering how far mobile network operators are behind times. Yes I know I've written a number of times on that subject but I think it is worth crying. After all someone may hear the call. So a couple of observations from the last two days, living with my MNO.

I talk a lot via phone while driving. Driving around a jammed city is boring, especially in Winter. So I talk. And from time to time my calls are dropped. I can understand this. I roam from one cell to another and the second one is full, unable to accommodate my call, so the call is dropped. But then the network never dials back to reconnect the call for me. I have to do this manually. The network knows the disconnect reason. It knows it was not me hanging up. It should relieve me of the manual redial. But it does not. Even worse. When the call is dropped, both parties dial back to reconnect. And the call setups very often collide. So the network actually knows the parties are trying to reconnect. And does not help them at all.

Then the marketing campaign call center calls me a number of times in a row. Those conversations are horrible. They are dialed out by machines, who check if the answering party (me) is a human. So I pick up the call, there are a couple of seconds of silence and then the call is connected to the call center agent. The agent never hears the first seconds of the conversation, when I actually always introduce myself by my full name. And then the agent goes "Good morning, am I speaking to Mr Xxx Yyy". "Yes. Haven't you heard? I have just introduced myself". I do not want to be rude. After all they are doing doing their job, following the computer scripts and the orders of their bosses, earning money for their families. But sometimes I cannot bear several such calls in a row. Especially as they have absolutely nothing to offer me - I am on the highest plan available already. And they know that. So why the call in the first place? They also call me often when I am abroad (roaming) and I actually PAY for receiving the unwanted calls from my MNO. And they know that too. So why they call? To piss me even more?

The two above mentioned examples show just how dumb the MNOs are. And there is no improvement at all in these core areas. At the same time they fear they will become dumb pipes (fear no, you already are!). It seems the problem originates with the owners / shareholders, oriented to maximize profits and cutting IT investment budgets. I have to say I dream of companies like Amazon to start offering mobile phone services. Amazon knows the IT infrastructure is the key to great service. MNOs with IT infrastructure dating the 1990's sometimes just can't do the simplest things.